USWNT to face Colombia in a pair of October friendlies as coaching search continues

The Americans are hoping to bounce back from a poor World Cup as they aim to rebuild momentum

The United States women's national team will play Colombia in a pair of friendlies in October, U.S. Soccer announced on Monday. It will be a west coast trip for the USWNT following a two-game series against South Africa in September. They'll face Las Chicas Superpoderosas on Oct. 26 in Utah, and Oct. 29 in San Diego. 

Colombia are coming off a historic 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup run where they won their group and made it all the way to the quarterfinals before falling 2-1 to England. They are one of four teams that have already qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris along with the United States, Brazil and host France. As 2022 Copa America Femenina runners-up, they have also been invited to participate in the upcoming 2024 Concacaf Gold Cup tournament in February. 

There have been no announcements that these friendlies will serve as farewell matches for Megan Rapinoe at America First Stadium and Snapdragon Stadium. Ahead of the 2023 World Cup, Rapinoe announced that she would retire from playing professionally at the conclusion of her NWSL season with OL Reign. 

The 2023 NWSL playoffs feature the top six teams at the end of the regular season, which concludes Oct. 15, and quarterfinals begin on Oct. 22 with semifinals to follow in November. Snapdragon Stadium will play host to the 2023 NWSL Championship on Nov. 11. Local NWSL club San Diego Wave FC are firmly in the playoff picture in third place and are chasing the 2023 NWSL Shield and playoff positioning. 

With an ongoing search for a new USWNT head coach after Vlatko Andnovski's departure, there's a possibility the matches could be around the time of an introduction of a new manager. Twila Kilgore is the current interim boss.